Connecticut Court Rules Gun Maker Can Be Sued Over Newtown Shooting

posted by Bill Galluccio -
Mar 14, 2019

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that gun maker Remington can be sued over how it marketed the Bushmaster rifle that was used by the man who killed 20 young children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

The plaintiffs in the case, who include a survivor and the relatives of nine people killed in the school shooting, argued that the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre is a weapon of war that has no place in the hands of civilians and claimed that Remington was marketing the deadly weapon to young people.

The 4-3 ruling overturns a lower court's decision that Remington was shielded from a wrongful death lawsuit because of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. While the justice's upheld much of the lower court's decision, they found that Remington could be sued over its marketing practices.

"The regulation of advertising that threatens the public's health, safety, and morals has long been considered a core exercise of the states' police powers," Justice Richard Palmer wrote for the majority.